Process for producing para-xylene

Abstract

In a process for producing a para-xylene enriched product from a gaseous mixture comprising at least para-xylene, meta-xylene and ortho-xylene, the gaseous mixture is contacted with an adsorbent capable of selectively adsorbing para-xylene and comprising a crystalline molecular sieve having an average crystal size between about 0.5 micron and about 20 microns. The contacting is conducted at a temperature and pressure such that at least part of the para-xylene in the mixture is adsorbed by the adsorbent to produce a para-xylene-depleted effluent stream. The para-xylene is then desorbed from said adsorbent and collected to form a para-xylene enriched stream. The adsorption and desorption steps are repeated for a plurality of cycles, such that the time between successive contacting steps is no more than 10 seconds.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.